SAN FRANCISCO -- A Giants middle-of-the-order hitter misses much of the early season with a broken arm. The club's offense struggles without him. He rejoins the lineup and almost immediately asserts himself by clobbering a home run.
Such are the parallels between Willie McCovey and Hunter Pence. McCovey broke his right arm on April 18, 1972, in a collision with San Diego's John Jeter; Pence fractured his left forearm when Cubs farmhand Corey Black hit him with a pitch in a March 5 exhibition.
Slumping miserably after winning the National League West the previous year, those 1972 Giants owned a 17-31 record and occupied last place in the division when McCovey homered in his first game back from a 44-game absence.